Service ribbons, ribbon devices, and badge awards displayed on a Command Master Chief Petty Officer's service uniform.
The United States Armed Forces awards and decorations are primarily the medals, service ribbons, and specific badges which recognize military service and personal accomplishments while a member of the U.S. Armed Forces. Such awards are a means to outwardly display the highlights of a service member's career.
U.S. military awards currently issued to service members
General order of precedence
The precedence of particular awards will vary slightly among the different branches of service. All awards and decorations may be awarded to any service member unless otherwise designated by name or notation.
| Ribbon/award name |
| Personal decorations |
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Awarded for "Conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty"
 Medal of Honor
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Service cross medals – Awarded for "extraordinary heroism in combat"
 Distinguished Service Cross (Army)
 Navy Cross
 Air Force Cross
 Coast Guard Cross
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Distinguished service medals – Awarded for "exceptionally meritorious service in a duty of great responsibility"
 Defense Distinguished Service Medal
 Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal
 Distinguished Service Medal (Army)
 Navy Distinguished Service Medal
 Distinguished Service Medal (Air and Space Forces)
 Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal
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Awarded for "gallantry in action"
 Silver Star Medal
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Awarded for "superior or exceptionally meritorious service"
 Defense Superior Service Medal
 Legion of Merit
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Awarded for "heroism or extraordinary achievement in aerial flight"
 Distinguished Flying Cross
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Medals for non-combat heroism
 Soldier's Medal
 Navy and Marine Corps Medal
 Airman's Medal
 Coast Guard Medal
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Awarded for heroism in combat zone or meritorious service in a war zone
 Bronze Star Medal
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Awarded for wounds suffered in combat
 Purple Heart
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Meritorious service and aviation medals
 Defense Meritorious Service Medal
 Meritorious Service Medal
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 Air Medal |
 Aerial Achievement Medal (Air and Space Forces) |
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Commendation medals
 Joint Service Commendation Medal
 Army Commendation Medal
 Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
 Air and Space Commendation Medal
 Coast Guard Commendation Medal
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Achievement medals
 Joint Service Achievement Medal
 Army Achievement Medal
 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
 Air and Space Achievement Medal
 Coast Guard Achievement Medal
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 Commandant's Letter of Commendation (Coast Guard) |
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Combat action awards
 Navy Combat Action Ribbon
 Combat Action Medal (Air and Space Forces)
 Coast Guard Combat Action Ribbon
Also see: Army combat badges
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| Unit awards |
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Presidential Unit Citations
 Presidential Unit Citation (Army)
 Presidential Unit Citation (Navy and Marine Corps)
 Presidential Unit Citation (Air and Space Forces)
 Presidential Unit Citation (Coast Guard)
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 Joint Meritorious Unit Award
 DHS Outstanding Unit Award
 Valorous Unit Award (Army)
 Navy Unit Commendation
 Gallant Unit Citation (Air and Space Forces)
 Coast Guard Unit Commendation
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Meritorious Unit Commendations
 Army Meritorious Unit Commendation
 Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
 Meritorious Unit Award (Air and Space Forces)
 Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation
 Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendation
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 Army Superior Unit Award
 Air and Space Outstanding Unit Award
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Efficiency Awards
 Navy "E" Ribbon
 Air and Space Organizational Excellence Award
 Coast Guard "E" Ribbon
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| Service awards |
 Prisoner of War Medal |
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Good conduct medals
 Army Good Conduct Medal
 Navy Good Conduct Medal
 Air Force Good Conduct Medal
 Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal
 Coast Guard Good Conduct Medal
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 Combat Readiness Medal (Air and Space Forces) |
 Outstanding Airman of the Year Ribbon
 Coast Guard Enlisted Person of the Year Ribbon
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 Air and Space Recognition Ribbon |
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Continued on right column
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Note: The precedence of the Purple Heart was immediately before the Good Conduct Medals until changed to its current precedence in 1985.
Military departments
- Inter-service
- Army
- Navy and Marine Corps
- Air Force and Space Force
- Coast Guard
To denote additional achievements or multiple awards of the same decoration, the United States military maintains a number of award devices which are pinned to service ribbons and medals.
Inactive and obsolete awards
U.S. military personnel having received these awards have participated within these areas of combat/conflict during the time these awards were given to U.S. service members. Such awards have since been discontinued or are no longer applicable in terms of receiving these commendations.
Main pages: Obsolete military awards of the United States and United States service medals of the World Wars
Discontinued or proposed
The following decorations were designed for issuance with an approved medal, but were either never officially approved for presentation or were discontinued before a first award could be made.
| Ribbon/award name |
| Personal decorations |
 Distinguished Warfare Medal |
| Combat service decorations |
 Combat Recognition Ribbon |
|
| Ribbon/award name |
| General service award |
 Cold War Victory Medal |
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Single service awards
Single service awards were official military decorations created as one time awards to recognize a single event. The first such single service award was issued during the Spanish–American War by the Revenue Cutter Service to honor the actions of the vessel USRC Hudson during the Battle of Cárdenas. The last single service award was issued in 1960 when Congress authorized the awarding of the Four Chaplains' Medal recognizing the Four Chaplains who died together during World War II. There have been no single service awards issued since by the U.S. military, mainly due to the decline and complications of awarding commemorative service medals.
| Ribbon/award name |
| Personal valor decorations |
 Four Chaplains' Medal |
| Personal commemorative decorations |
 Cardenas Medal of Honor |
 NC-4 Medal |
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| Ribbon/award name |
| Exploratory commemorative decorations |
 Peary Polar Expedition Medal |
 Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal |
 Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal |
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Unofficial decorations
Unofficial decorations are those military awards created and issued by local commanders. In most cases, unofficial awards were designed to commemorate a specific battle or engagement of a commander's unit. The most well known unofficial awards were issued during the American Civil War.
| Ribbon/award name |
| Civil War decorations |
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Kearny Cross |
| Kearny Medal |
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Butler Medal |
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Gillmore Medal |
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| Ribbon/award name |
| Research decorations |
| Walter Reed Medal |
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After the Civil War, stricter military regulations prohibited local commanders from issuing awards and the practice had fallen into disuse by the 20th century. Even so, the Department of Defense has stated that large numbers of unofficial medals were privately issued to members of the Armed Forces of the United States for many years after the Civil War, mostly to commemorate specific battles, events, or as private veteran memorabilia. One of the more well known is the Walter Reed Medal (recognized today as a Congressional Gold Medal), awarded for exploratory scientific achievement in the field of malaria treatment. While presented as a gold medallion, members of the military were reported to wear a red ribbon on their uniforms to denote the decoration.
Foreign and international awards
Main pages: Authorized foreign decorations of the United States military and International military decoration authorized by the US military
Foreign and international decorations are authorized for wear on United States military uniforms by the Department of Defense in accordance with established regulations for the receipt of such awards as outlined by the State Department. In the case of foreign decorations, the awards may be divided into senior service decorations (awarded only to high ranking U.S. officers), heroic decorations for valor, and foreign service decorations.
There are hundreds of foreign and international awards which have been approved for issuance to United States military personnel since World War I, the following being among the more common.
| Ribbon/award name |
| World War I |
 French Legion of Honor |
 British Order of the Bath |
 French Military Medal |
 French Croix de guerre |
 Belgian Croix de guerre |
 Czechoslovak War Cross (1918) |
| Caribbean & Central America (1920s & 1930s) |
 Order of Abdon Calderón (Ecuador) |
 Military Merit Medal (Haiti) |
 Medal of Merit (Nicaragua) |
| World War II (Europe) |
 French Croix de guerre |
 Belgian Croix de guerre |
 Luxembourg War Cross |
 Czechoslovak War Cross (1945) |
 Luxembourg War Cross (Unit Citation) |
| World War II (Pacific) |
 Philippine Defense Medal |
 Philippine Liberation Medal |
 Philippine Independence Medal |
 Philippine Presidential Unit Citation |
| World War II (Senior Orders) |
 Order of Adolphe of Nassau (Luxembourg) |
 Order of the Aztec Eagle (Mexico) |
 Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom) |
 Order of the Crown (Belgium) |
 Order of Leopold (Belgium) |
 Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands) |
 Order of Ouissam Alaouite (Morocco) |
 Order of Pao Ting (China) |
 Order of Virtuti Militari (Poland) |
 Order of the White Eagle (Poland) |
 Order of the White Eagle (Yugoslavia) |
 Order of William (Netherlands) |
| Korean War - South Korea and the United Nations |
 United Nations Service Medal |
 Republic of Korea War Service Medal |
 Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation |
|
| Ribbon/award name |
| Vietnam War - Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) |
 RVN Army Distinguished Service Order |
 RVN Navy Distinguished Service Order |
 RVN Air Force Distinguished Service Order |
 RVN Military Merit Medal |
 RVN Gallantry Cross (with Palm) |
 RVN Air Gallantry Cross |
 RVN Navy Gallantry Cross |
 RVN Armed Forces Honor Medal |
 RVN Civil Actions Medal (1st class) |
 RVN Staff Service Medal |
 RVN Special Service Medal |
 RVN Training Service Medal |
 RVN Presidential Unit Citation |
 RVN Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with palm and frame |
 RVN Civil Actions Medal Unit Citation with palm and frame (1st class) |
 RVN Campaign Medal with 1960- device |
| Persian Gulf War |
 Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait) |
 Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia) |
| International Awards (20th Century) |
 United Nations Medal |
 Multinational Force and Observers Medal |
 Inter-American Defense Board Medal |
 NATO Medal (Yugoslavia) |
 NATO Medal (Kosovo) |
 NATO Medal (Non-Article 5) |
| Senior Military Awards (21st Century) |
 Aeronautical Merit Cross (Peru) |
 Cross of Honor (Germany) |
 Khalifiyyeh Order of Bahrain |
 Military Merit Order (United Arab Emirates) |
 Order of the Crown of Thailand |
 Order of the Date Palm (Iraq) |
 Order of May (Argentina) |
 Order of Merit (Germany) |
 Order of Merit of the Italian Republic |
 Order of National Security Merit (Korea) |
 Order of the Rising Sun (Japan) |
 Order of the Southern Cross (Brazil) |
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During the First and Second World Wars, the Croix de Guerre medals of France and Belgium, as well as the French Military Medal and Luxembourg War Cross, were further issued as unit citation cords, known as Fourragère. Service members could receive both the individual award and the unit cord; in the case of the later, the unit citation could either be worn temporarily while a member of the unit or permanently if the service member was present during the actual battle which warranted the unit citation. A further unit citation cord of the Order of William of the Netherlands was also issued during World War II, and was far more commonly known as the "Orange Lanyard".
As of 2002, South Korea has again issued the Korean Presidential Unit Citation to certain units of the United States Marine Corps, thus placing this previously obsolete foreign award back on the active order of precedence for U.S. decorations. Apart from this one decoration, most 21st century foreign military awards are reserved for only the most senior flag and general officers and then only presented as "end of tour" decorations upon transfer from a major command.
See also
In Spanish: Distinciones Militares de Estados Unidos para niños
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